Taunton High School combines past & present at dedication

Friday

Oct 28, 2011 at 12:01 AMOct 28, 2011 at 10:17 AM

Taunton High School is giving a nod to the past with an eye on the future.

During a ceremony scheduled Sunday to dedicate the newly renovated high school building, the city plans to enclose a 1976 time capsule construction workers unearthed during the renovation project. The city will also plant a new capsule to teach future generations about life in 2011.

Gerry Tuoti

Taunton High School is giving a nod to the past with an eye on the future.

During a ceremony scheduled Sunday to dedicate the newly renovated high school building, the city plans to enclose a 1976 time capsule construction workers unearthed during the renovation project. The city will also plant a new capsule to teach future generations about life in 2011.

The renovation work, which started four years ago, is in its final stages. The field house is the only remaining major area to undergo significant work.

“It’s very satisfying to mark the completion, or have a recognition that it’s coming to a conclusion,” said School Committee chairman Joseph Martin, who used to work in the high school as a math teacher and as an administrator.

The ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 30, which will begin at 1 p.m., will feature speeches from city and school officials and local legislators. The Taunton High ROTC cadets, the high school chorus and the jazz band are expected to also participate.

Although the renovation work began four years ago, planning for the project started much earlier. The city first submitted the project for state approval back in 2001. The project, which includes the high school renovation and the construction of a new Parker Middle School, cost $112 million, 83 percent of which is being reimbursed by the state’s School Building Authority.

“It’s been a long time for it to come to a conclusion,” Martin said. “Obviously, you cannot renovate a building that’s occupied overnight.”

During the renovations, construction workers would seal the section of the building on which they were working, then shuffle classes and school personnel around the building as they completed one section and moved onto another.

The current high school building opened in fall of 1975. The first graduating class planted a time capsule the following spring. Mayor Charles Crowley said the 1976 time capsule has been packed up in a container, waiting to be reburied. Current students are assembling the new capsule.

The mayor said he’s happy to see the renovation drawing to a close.

“The results have involved the contributions of an awful lot of people,” Crowley said. “The school is a beautiful showcase the students and the teachers rave about.”